Dublin Week 1st-7th August

listening to: Lock Picker - Proton Proton

Wednesday
Seven Deadly Skins @ The Mezz

Saturday
Working Class Records: Urban Intelligence, Buchaill Dana, MC Wuzza @ Eamonn Doran's

fuck all basically

listening to: Dance Me In - Sons and Daughters

Una

Plethora

yes, there has been a plethora of blog action over the last few days

so, check out

Sarah's blog: http://misssarahjunefox.blogspot.com

Corina's blog: http://corinag.blogspot.com

and

JJ72's blog: http://jj72.blogspot.com

...and the drummer said to the journo

"you better say hello to me at the gig so we can get drunk together."

- Frank from the Fun Lovin' Criminals to me today.

listening to: The National - Abel

In other news, I cancelled a James Blunt interview today, and pass my interviewing duties over to Iano for tomorrow when he will hang out in a hotel suite with Super Furry Animals while I'm at work. Cheers dude. Iano El Saviour.

My wrist is sore (I'm wearing a very retro wrist support with yellow and blue stripes), in what I can only imagine is the first stage of my arthritis/tequila induced degenerative bone disease. I could be in good company, Mick Mars has the same pain going on.

listening to: Kings of Leon - The Bucket

here are some cool Weezer demos: http://www.audioigloo.com/benji/pleasantwaves/Maladroit%20Demos/

Peace

Una

This Week In Dublin

listening to: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Modern Romance

Quiet week this week

Friday 29th
Devendra Banhart

The Village

Warlords of Pez

Crawdaddy

Saturday 30th
Redneck Manifesto

Crawdaddy

Sunday 31st
Felix Da Housecat

Spirit

Also this week is LOOK OUT! The 13th Dublin Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
28th July - 1st August
http://www.gcn.ie/dlgff/home.asp


Una

listening to: The Libertines - Time For Heroes

Create Your Own Coldplay X&Y Artwork

http://homepage.mac.com/wysz/xy/coldcode.html


listening to: The National - Abel

Una

Let's Have Some Music...

listening to: Editors - Munich

So, there was a bit of a lull there maybe? MAYBE? Anyway, if there was or wasn't, a few bands have cropped up that I'm really loving.

First and foremost Editors saw their single 'Munich' ages ago on MTV, and it's all Interpol/Joy Division fast moodiness. 'Blood' is their new single, but listen to 'Munich' here, track 2 on the album
http://microsites.nme.com/php/listeningpost/editors/rm.php?track=02_hi
And here's another track from them: 'Bullets'
http://www.endingeast.com/mp3/editors-bullets.mp3


Next is Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, more American indie for your soul. I've been listening to one track from them 'Upon This Tidal Wave of young Blood' which has that same Arcade Fire rush, mixed in with some Shins dorkiness and great slurred vocals. Darn good pop.


Then we have For Stars, no, NOT Stars the Canadians (who I'll get to in a bit), but another sweet indiness, not incredibly inventive, but good listening none the less. Here is their song 'How It Goes'
http://mp301.epitonic.com/streamed/files/reg/songs/mp3/For_Stars-How_It_Goes.mp3


Clor are a relatively new one who loads of people were talking about after Glastonbury. Is a bit too obvious for me, and if you like this stuff, you'll probably prefer The Knife or The Rapture who are superior at doing basically the same thing. Listen to 'Magic Touch'
http://microsites.nme.com/php/listeningpost/clor/rm.php?track=08_hi


Thanks to Lili, I've been listening to a fair bit of Maximo Park mainly their new single 'Going Missing' - but there's a bunch of good shit there - Graffitti, Apply Some Pressure, you get it. Saw their two sets (one Ticket Stage, one accoustic VIP tent) at Oxegen and both were top notch. Here's 'Apply Some Pressure'
http://www.endingeast.com/mp3/maximopark-applysomepressure.mp3

listening to: For Stars - There Was A River

Unpopular choice of the week is me liking Babyshambles' new single 'Fuck Forever' which (fuck you all) is fucking fantastic. Brilliant climax to every chorus, trashy, messy, cracky, "I can't tell between death and glory" Doherty sings. Well, he'll go down in a blaze of one of them anyway. I love the way the whole song just disintegrates. You can stream the video here:
http://demand1.stream.aol.com/ramgen/timeinc/uk/ipcmedia/nme/
video/05/june/babyshambles_vid_movie_hi.rm


You can now download JJ72 - 'She's Gone' from xtaster, which is cool because up until now, I only had a radio stream. The video for 'Coming Home' is up on drownedinsound too and you can request it from Kerrang TV.

listening to: Babyshambles - Fuck Forever

Quite excited about those darn kids Be Your Own Pet coming to Electric Picnic (www.electricpicnic.ie). I'm still listening to their best known (and best?) track: Damn Damn Leash. Gotta love those teen chick vocals. You can download that song here
http://www.endingeast.com/mp3/beyourownpet-damndamnleash.mp3


listening to: Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

So, anyone I'm missing?

Una

INTERVIEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES

Just a few interviews from the archives here. First up is Funeral For a Friend, because I love their new STREETCAR single:

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND


Welsh emo kings Funeral For A Friend are about to embark on another tour with a new album in tow. Una Mullally chatted to guitarist Darren Smith as he drove to a studio in New Port to record some B-Sides

The album is out soon, how do you feel about it?
I feel quite happy with the way it sounds. I think it’s a great record so I’m super pleased.

Was there a lot of pressure to follow up the success from the first album?
Yeah, it was kind of weird. You know, they say you have your whole life to record your first album and a few months to do your second. But we had done a four track EP first, so we barely had time to write the first album. With this, we felt quite comfortable writing on the road. I was actually surprised with how easy it came together. It just came out naturally. The chemistry in the band is very strong and we’ve improved with how we interact.

Are you looking forward to the tour?
Yeah, of course. I’m at home at the moment, and you tend to be glad to get back home, but once you are home for a week, you want to get back out again. On tour, you lose track of days so coming back to reality, it’s a bit weird.

What are your favourite memories from tour?
Without a doubt when we toured with Iron Maiden. They’re our childhood heroes and playing before them and seeing them backstage was amazing. Another one was with this band called Boy Sets Fire who we love. When we had a chance to play with them, they bought our CD and listened to it all the way up to a gig in Scotland. They were really complimentary and we ended up becoming really good friends. It’s incredible to love a band and then have them like you. Our first year at Reading was great too. We were checking our gear and the tent was completely empty. We went backstage for a while and when we came out, walking up the ramps, we just saw people running towards the tent, it was completely full. Those moments are just so bizarre.

You’ve got really dedicated fans, what is it about your music that people respond to so strongly to?
I’m not quite sure. It’s a hard thing for any band to give an answer to. We write songs first and foremost for ourselves, you can’t go up on stage and not have that enthusiasm. The chemistry between us all is just one of those things. We believe so much in what we do, and we all love what we do and make the most of it. We’re realistic and realise how fickle the music industry is. Next year, it might juts be somebody else. We realise this could all go away tomorrow, so we give out best today.

What do you have in store for the Dublin show?
Some new songs, definitely. At the Funeral shows, we do our best to put on something amazing and get the audience going off. We’re the same as everyone else in that crowd, so we want to get everyone involved.

What memories will remain with you when it’s all over do you think?
The fact of being reasonably successful at what we do. It’s been a dream becoming a reality, I’ve been looking back before we even start.


Next up Indie lovelies, Belle & Sebastian

LA VITA E BELLE

Line-up changes, Father Ted, peacocks and themed bedrooms. Stevie from Belle & Sebastian tells all to Una Mullally.


“I would try to think of an excuse, but I just plain forgot”. This is Stevie’s sheepish apology for missing a call from The Event Guide. But fair play to him, he rang back. Belle & Sebastian have climbed a few rungs in the music industry ever since they formed in Glasgow in 1996. Their first record now changes hands for about 400 quid, they’ve courted controversy on Top Of The Pops and now have a summer of festivals ahead of them. Speaking of festivals, “I definitely like playing festivals. Playing to people who don’t know us is quite exciting, plus the major perks of getting to see bands yourself. Paul McCartney is playing Glastonbury, and it’s quite sad, but I really want to see him. Ah, to see a Beatle! Great!”

Touring relentlessly puts pressure on even the most established bands, and Belle and Sebastian are no exception. Months on the road have seen them shed a few members, not that Stevie is complaining, “Personnel changes were good. The people that left were always a drag. Now everybody in the group wants to be there, so it’s a happier place. I mean this band was always difficult to be in. Always traveling and not having to think, because you have a tour manager to do that for you, can be a bit disorientating. But we’ve never been away for that long. I’d imagine if you we away for over six months, it would be insane and you’d just go to drugs.” So, B&S must have sympathy for those rock stars who find it too much, “Fuck off! I can’t say for a minute it’s hard work. It’s not down the mines, is it?” Indeed.

As you may have gathered difficulties aren’t alien to Belle & Sebastian, so how did they keep it together when so many others either got worse, or just fell apart? What makes a good band? “That’s a very good question. I suppose, a good leader, someone who’s not egotistical and then that person picks the people who are going to be in the band. A band needs to pull together and head in the same direction. With us, the money gets distributed equally, so It’s quite socialist in its outlook. And not doing what the industry tells you.” Anything else? “Talent helps”, he replies smartly.

For their last video, Belle and Sebastian enlisted the help of Father Ted supremo Graham Linehan, and to say Stevie is gushing about his work would be a bit of an understatement, “Father Ted is Shakespearean. It’s art of the highest order. It’s great”. Pausing to remove a curry from his oven, Stevie returns to recount the bizarre circumstances of recording ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ with Trevor Horn of ABC and er, TATU fame. “We were recording the tracks in Trevor Horn’s country estate”, he giggles. Now for the important question – were there peacocks? “Yeah! Peacocks, horses and all kinds of shit. It was amazing. All of the bedrooms were themed, I was in the RAF room, with planes hanging from the ceiling and shit like that. If you didn’t have much to do, you’d play with these five dogs that were always hanging around. Then we’d have lunch in this Agatha Christy dining hall. There was a kind of murder-mystery vibe. It was great!” He slurs ‘great’ like only a Scottish person can.

Stepping away from Gosford Park for a moment, Belle and Sebastian continue their quiet assent with a new single, ‘Books’, and of course, a stint at Oxegen this summer. Five years have passed since they graced an Irish stage, so get ready for it. It’ll be great.


I've interviewed James Blunt twice this year, and will do so again on Wednesday - so I guess that just shows how much he's getting around. Believe you me, a few months ago, I did NOT think he would have a number one single and album in England for the last couple of weeks. Nice boy, must have that drink with him at some stage...

JAMES BLUNT

From the British Army to touring with Elton John. Eh? Yeah, it’s James Blunt, fresh from a set at the Ruby Sessions and now taking on Crawdaddy. He spoke to Una Mullally. Watch this space.

The military isn’t the usual background of a singer/songwriter…
The army paid for university, well a part of it. I owed them four years after. I did my time in the reconnaissance regiment mainly with small tanks in Kosovo, Canada and Switzerland.

There’s a very distinct song on the album about your time in Kosovo. Do you draw a lot form those experiences?
Looking at the album now, the stuff on it is taken from mostly other experiences. The army was, to me, just a job, not a way of life. My outlook on life as a whole is very mixed. I try not to get embroiled in one thing.

After leaving the army, what was the lead up to recording your debut album?
I quit my job and got a manager. Without my manager, I’d be pretty much lost. He has seen me through the dangerous waters of the music industry, and they can be quite dangerous.

How did the recording process like for you?
EMI flew me over to LA where I met Linda Perry of Pink and Christina Aguilera fame, and 4 Non Blondes of course. Anyway, she offered me a record deal. The part of this that has been slow was just going over to the States and the production side of things. The offering of deals and that part came quickly actually. Recording was great fun. I did the album with Tom Rothrock, who’s a very nice man, very soft spoken. He’s not a pushy producer, so for my first album and first time sitting down in that environment, that was just what I needed. It was strange, though, being underneath the Hollywood sign because I was a Hollywood virgin I suppose.

How do feel about the album now?
I love the record. It has been my dream to have it as a tangible object I can hold. That was all I was really after.

Have you had hardened singer-songwriters who have been around for a while looking at your success and baying for blood?
Perhaps I’ve have the benefit of looking for it as a job. Since I left my last job it’s happened pretty quickly. Fair enough, I haven’t been long on the circuit like other people, but I’ve spent that whole time in my bedroom. So really, I have been doing music for all that long time. When I got a manager, I was pretty much ready to go because I had done the musical preparation myself. And yeah, everybody needs a bit of luck.

How have the gigs been going?
The tour with Elton John was an incredible opportunity. Going from playing to 200 people to 27,000 people. The stages were set up so efficiently for his team that it was like a playground for us. I’d recommend it to anyone! Glastonbury as well, was very special. I’m having a fantastic time. I do recognise that I’m incredibly lucky to do so. There are masses of musicians out there who don’t get to do this, so I intend to have a fantastic time.

What’s next?
I want to keep this as a job for a few years. I’m not after fame and fortune. This year seems to be panning out really well. The shows in January have sold out and I now have the opportunity to travel around and see places. Basically, I’m just waiting to see what happens.

What can the Dublin crowd expect from the gig?
It’s a nice change to do smaller venues. No one will know who I am at the Ruby sessions gig, and then I’m playing with the band at Crawdaddy. Elton’s shows were great, but it’s the smaller ones I enjoy. You can see the whites of people’s eyes. There’s something about that intimacy that affects people and allows you to be affected.


there yiz go

listening to: Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 4 (live)

Una

Believe me, I am a big fan of the orginal, have it on DVD and EVERYTHING. I trust Mr Depp will do a good job, but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous about them ruining one of my favourite movies, even if Dahl didn't like the first one. Fingers crossed, you vermicious kniffs. 

drums, boys with 3 haircuts, what you putting up your nose? is that where all your money goes, and other lessons from the 80s of now

First of all, I am still under the spell of Pop Life by Prince, which I have probably listened to every day for the past couple of years, and have just realised now that this is obsessive behaviour. So, to remedy my compulsive Prince disorder, I listened to it another million times, and then downloaded a tour rehearsal mp3 of it. It's getting bad folks, getting bad.

listening to: The Rapture - The Coming Of Spring

Speaking of the Rapture, Alex from Franz Ferdinand just sent me this email answering some qvestions.

Where are you at the moment, and what are you up to (apart from answering these questions)?
I'm sitting backstage at a Swiss festival. I'm spending a lot of time online, checking the final mixes of the album and sitting with the others, plotting the video for Do You Want To.

Why the decision to name the second album 'Franz Ferdinand', just with a different colour scheme?
We wanted to make life harder for the guys who work at HMV

Are you copying Led Zepplin?
Only in our lifestyle

Do you care about Led Zepplin?
We love the Zep.

Tell me about the Bob Dylan influence on the next album?
It's a passing influence, really. I was enjoying listening to Highway 61 Revisited and reading Chronicles.

Considering your debut was so successful, are you scared about how this one will go down? Not as scared as the record company.

Can you recognise that you changed the music scene in Britain somewhat?
We reintroduced the short back and sides.

What does the term 'angular' mean to you?
East Angular? Isn't that where Norwich is?

You said 'we want to make music girls can dance to', the Rapture claim you stole that from them - rebuttal?
Who?

What is fame best used for?
No idea.

Do you dance to 'Take Me Out' in clubs?
As often as we can. We request it if they've only played it a couple of times.

What band would you like to steal songs from?
Toilet and The Stanleys

What's the worst lyric you've ever written?
I'm not telling you.

Are you pleased to be playing on the same bill with Maroon 5?
It's nice for them to have a wee go.

Does the band have a philosophy?
Be excellent to one another.

If it all ended tomorrow, what memory from Franz Ferdinand would you take with you?
Backstage in the Zenith.

Do you have pre-gig rituals? Or post gig ones?
No

listening to: Green Day - Letterbomb

WHY IS MY COMPUTER SO FUCKING SLOW THIS EVENING? grr.

listening to: Harvest Ministers - When I Became Yours

Last night, Lili and I didn't know what to do. The highlights from Oxegen were on MTV, we had a case of Heineken and Big Brother to watch, little money and tiredness. But we decided, fuck it, lets go out. We ended up in a pub we didn't want to be in before wandering back to Temple Bar and stubbling upon some weird outdoor Flemish movie where everybody kept bitching about someone called "madame Babbette" we left because of liquid gold laughs. What happened next was a few hours sitting on a path in Temple Bar realising why some people like Dublin. There were a few people drumming, some amazing dancers and people just hanging out and spontaneously getting up to dance. After a long while, it turned into a full on cobblestoned disco, and stopping for the police to drive through, or for a few giant drops of rain, didn't halt it. We left a while later feeling as if something had happened. It was better than becoming couch digest.

listening to: Laura Viers - Riptide

Una

Here's Corina and me at Oxegen. It's up on www.oxegen.ie in the Gallery (under crowd shots) with loads more of Lili's brilliant photees! 

Tribuna

listening to: Stone Roses - Fools Gold

First week at the Tribune this week. Fun stuff. The people are totally nice and I got three and a bit articles in this Sunday. Plus a mention on 'what's in the papers' on Radio One to my Pop's delight. Looking forward to writing writing writing. More More More.

Una

Lili has some awesome shots from the JJ72 gig @ The Village on Friday night on her blog (http://misslili.blogspot.com). Here's me, Sarah, Gus and Corina. fucking GREAT gig - review coming soon.  

LISTEN TO ME ON 2FM

you can now listen to me on the Dave Fanning show by clicking on 'Monday' and scrolling up until one hour is gone on the timer. Tracks I chose include The Libertines, The Honeymoon, The Cult (fuck yiz all!) and Arcade Fire

http://www.rte.ie/2fm/davefanning.html

Una

'Sup Bitches, and various other updates from Una's life

Watching: The new JJ72 video: Coming Home : available here:
http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/12650.html


'Sup bitches.

I'm working at the Sunday Tribune for the time being. Working on a couple of interesting stories involving Scientology, granite, GAA legends and Parkinson's Diesease. I guess you'll just have to buy this Sunday's edition to figure it all out :P

Lili and I rock, because once again team Lil-Una is reigning supreme. The lovely people at Alternative Ulster Magazine (http://www.alternativeulster.com/) are printing my Devendra Banhart interview (I'll post it up here soon, but but the mag goddammit), and have a few other ideas perhaps for me and Lili in the pipeline (some involving Oxegen, below)

listening to: Alexisonfire - 44. Calibre Love Letter

PLUS, the fantastic Miss Lili is shooting the stars of Hard Working Class Heroes Festival next week. Nice one ;)

Really excited about the new editions to Electric Picnic in September (www.electricpicnic.ie)
They include the FABULOUS JJ72, Be Your Own Pet, LCD Soundsystem, Redneck Manifesto, Doves, Vitalic added to the already brilliant line up. Mostly, I want to see Arcade Fire though.

Thanks to YOU AINT NO PICASSO for introducing me to some great bands over the last few days; Say Hi To your Mom, You Say Party! We Say Die!, The Unicorns, Starlight Mints etc. Cheers Matt!

Una

Here'e me interviewing the drummer from The Magic Numbers (other band members in the background). Thanks for this photee lili! 

Here's Brandon Flowers backstage. Dunno if me or Lili took this one. Maybe me. 

My papparazzi photo of Charlie (formerly of Busted, now of Fightstar). Surprisingly tall I might add 

OXEGEN

listening to: Hal - Play The Hits

Go to:
www.misslili.net
http://misslili.blogspot.com
www.oxegen.ie
www.mcd.ie
to see Lili's photos from the end.

Music festivals are strange creatures. For a few days, skins of order, conventionality and social acceptance are shed, like some entirely innapropriate boa constrictor. Now stripped of all the daily invisible rules that teach us from everything to drive on the correct side of the road, contain nose picking to privacy and adopt sensible sleeping hours, there is nothing to do but replace these constraints with base delinquency. Now, hygene is alien. Joints for breakfast, beer for supper, dancing for lunch. Shelter is transformed from one-bedroom apartments to a giant tented commune of drug addled sun burn. A cubicle in an office is replace with endless space. Even the items that festivals offer - gig, food, club are transported to massive field moshing, eating from a van and circus tents. Yes, strange things festivals.

listening to: Missy Elliot V Depeche Mode

Staying in Lili's on Friday night allowed us to spring up early enough and scab a lift with Sinead and her Garda boyfriend Paul. His second name is McKenna, so we figured if there was any trouble with guestlist, we could just hypnotise everyone. But there wasn't. And soon, we all had our shiny wristbands.

MTV were set up in the press room, but nothing was really happening on Saturday morning (that I could see, loads of shit went on later when I was off drinking free beer). Did a small interview with Turn, to Lili's amazement. "You came all the way here to interview Ollie? Just sit outside fucking Ba Mizu for five minutes and do it."

listening to: Bloc Party - Plans

Roisin, who was camping with friends so allowed to be drunk, was off being Galway at The Saw Doctors, so I hung around with her and her mates (one of whom looks EXACTLY like Shannon Doherty). We accosted hot MTV news guy Tim Cash, especially Doherty who was determined that he would give me an interview. A few stalking photos later, and outbursts of rage from Doherty follwed by her heartfelt conversations with MTV guy, she marched back to us. "Tim Cash is after filling me with shite." Quite.

After that, it was back to the campsite with Roisin, via 'Everyday I Love you Less and Less' from the Kaiser Chiefs set, and 'Honest Mistake' from The Bravery's set. There, we met one of Roisin's very strange tent neighbours. 'Omar' insisted on showing us his chest rug every two minutes in between freaking out that the drug squad was coming and screaming "I'VE GOT THE MOVES" in a thick Donegal accent. Cans of Coors and vodka and lemon followed. From the tent next to us, I heard some guy scream "I'm not trying to touch your tits" which was quite funny. What was not funny was the fucking state of the toilets. I had been used to the glories of flushing from the VIP area, but these were basically buckets of shite. Both Roisin and I gagged and puked because the smell was so bad.

listening to : JJ72 - She's Gone

On the way back to the main stage, we got distracted by the dance tent where we simply had to stpo for a little dance or two. Then Snoop Dogg. Fantastic shit. "When I say Punches, you say Town." Totally cute. And then Queens of The Stone Age where I spent the entire time talking to some guy called Des about our favourite metal drummers. Green Day were then the flavour for the evening. They played loads of stuff from American Idiot. I went to Kasabian then to meet Lili who was dancing and snapping away. They dedicated LSF to the victims of the London bombing. After that, I watched The Prodigy from the side stage before heading over to Ian Brown who was shocking.

We managed to scab another lift from a photographer 'Paddy' that Lili was hanging out with during the day. But he forgot where he parked his car. Bearing in mind that there are almost 100,000 people hanging out, so finding a car is tough when all you know is that it was "parked at a corner." We walked around for an hour and a half looking and I was maybe 49 seconds away from crying when we found it. Lili and I crept into the boot and got some serious snooze action on the way back to Dublin.

listening to: The Killers - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine

"No, you can only buy a return. It's twenty euro." Fuck you Dublin Bus. That was the general sentiment of Sunday morning. NO one way tickets, what bollox. We got on anyway, to the SVEATIEST bus this side of Calcutta. The bus also liked to bash into trees and take wrong turns, a lot.

Lili and I arrived in the press room early enough and I was determined to spend most of my day there chilling. It was so hot. Unbelievably so. Lili and I lucked out on getting a sneaking golf buggy ride to the dance stage where Lili took photos of Brother J. We went to the ticket stage to check out Leya, but the didn't show, so back to chill ville for us.

listening to: Ash - A Life Less Ordinary

Maximo Park were next for us. So good. Lili has converted me. The keyboard player was so cute and came out to meet fans afterwards, bless. Then back to the VIP area for some celeb spotting. I got papparazzi photos of Charlie from Fightstar and Branndon Flowers (wearing girly Chanel Shades) from The Killers. Lili got backstage photos of the Prodigy, Magic Numbers, Maximo Park, Brendan Benson, Kasabian and probably more. The MTV news, MTV2 and TRL people were around constantly too.

Corina and Naomi and Anthony came down too, because Anthony was DJing in the VIP tent, so that was totally fun. Plus I got an interview with The Magic Numbers which was practically my work done for the weekend.

listening to: Arcade Fire - I'm Sleeping In A Submarine

I ventured out for the Streets who were totally shitfaced. "Hello Manchester", slagging the crowd for being 'VIPs', pretending to piss in a bottle and throw it at the crowd, beating each other up and ending with "Goodnight Wembley" didn't actually go down very well. The Killers were on next and the sound was totally shit. They got the biggest crowd of the weekend though.

Back at the VIP tent, The Futureheads were doing an accoustic set for MTV. My moment of the weekend happened here, when Dave Grohl was standing beside me all of a sudden. First time I have ever been starstruck. Crazy. Brilliant. Maximo Park did a great set there too, and Lili and I met the lead singer after, total cutey. Was chatting to Brendan Benson a bit before his set. Sweetheart as usual, and had words of advice that "juice is a good idea."

listening to : Bleedin Bleedins - Dont Stop City

Hung out for a bit before catching some of the Foo Fighters, listening to a bit of James Brown and meeting Lili by the 'TRAMPOLIO" (which is how 'trampoline' came up in predictive txt on her phone), before heading back with the guy who hadn't lost his car this time. I'm sure more shit happened kids, but I just don't remember. Check lili's blog for photos.

listening to : Interpol - NYC (live)

Una

This Weekend - OXEGEN

listening to: The Libertines - Time For Heroes

Festival time, my first one this year to be exact. This weekend, Lili and I will treck down to Oxegen in Punchestown. I'll be trying to interview as many bands as possible for The Event Guide and get a few reviews for cluas.com. Lili will be taking photos for the MCD website (www.mcd.ie) Hopefully, we'll be getting a lift down on Saturday with Sinead and her boyf, then we'll have to think of some magical way to get back into town on Saturday night and back again on Sunday morning and, yes, then back home on Sunday night. Fun fun.

www.oxegen.ie

Bands I'm hoping to see are:

SATURDAY

Marshall Stars
The Departure
Kaiser Chiefs
Razorlight
Snoop Dogg
Hal
Queens Of The Stone Age
The Bravery
Bloc Party
Green Day
Ian Brown
(with a bit of Interpol, Kasabian, Prodigy, Go! Team thrown in)

listening to: White Stripes - Passive Manipulation (live)

SUNDAY

Leya
Rilo Kiley
Maximo Park
Humanzi
The Streets
Editors
The Killers
LCD Soundsystem
Magic Numbers
Doves
Brendan Benson
Foo Fighters
(with some James Brown and New Order thrown in)

listening to: The Honeymoon - Reconcile

So that's my weekend mapped out.

Una

HUMANZI

listening to : Hal - What A Lovely Dance

New mucho hyped Dublin band HUMANZI get the Una treatment

OH THE HUMANZI

The gossip mill went into overdrive earlier this year when an unknown Dublin band was reported to have signed a one million euro deal. Cue backlash, bitching and begrudgery. Lead singer/guitarist Shaun Mulrooney quashed some rumours with Una Mullally.

There two things Dublin does better than most, and that’s bitching. And then there’s bitching about our music ‘scene’. Snuggle up to a crack in a door in any muso establishment, and you’ll find manys the disgruntled guitar merchant / barman / busker / wannabe Lester Bangs bitching their face off about a selection of indie hopefuls or semi-established beard-sporting acoustic heroes. A few months ago, Humanzi were the latest target. The little known band, formed from the remnants of Listo raised eyebrows when they signed to Polydor/Universal. When a Sunday Times article claimed the band had signed for a million euro, things, well, got a little bit out of hand.

“Yeah, fairly unfortunate,” snarls Mulrooney, “some journalist, I don’t even remember his name, he just made up everything. He made up our names, he made up random shit, he made up a crazy sum of a million quid. Robbie fuckin’ Williams doesn’t see that kind of money…” The rant continues in Mulrooney’s abrasive but likeable Dublin accent. When he calms slightly, he presents the facts, “it was a moderate record deal. It’s a deal any good new band would see. Rumours are just that – rumours. Why would we care what people are saying? We’re ignoring everything.”

Humanzi are gearing up for some of their biggest gigs yet. Oxegen is a couple of days away, then a support slot with the Pixies and in between all that, the band are preparing for their first headline show since February at the Temple Bar Music Centre. “The crowd can expect loud, noisy aggressive, confrontational music. No, don’t say aggressive, that’s a bad word.” The Music Centre is where Mulrooney is taking this call, nursing a broken heel between rehearsals, which forced the band to cancel sets at T In The Park and gigs with Queens Of The Stone Age. And then there’s the album, part recorded with Peter Katis who has worked with Interpol and according to Mulrooney, due sometime around this September, which seems awfully soon for a record as yet incomplete.

No one really knows what Humanzi are capable of. Their material remains largely unreleased yet their press releases boast sweeping statements somewhere between a manifesto for world domination and a Big Brother diary room rant, “Humanzi represent a way forward. Emulating without imitating. They are the new order.” This kind of nonsensical presumption echoes in Mulrooney’s rhetoric, “we’ve got bigger plans than Dublin,” he says, “yeah, people bitch about us, but I bitch about other bands. That’s to be expected. There’s no point in worrying, ‘cause you have to stay focussed. A backlash isn’t going to bother us.”

His confidence is a bit off-putting, until you take into account that Humanzi really are hot property, having toured with The Bravery and bagged some massive support slots. He’s slightly irritated when asked about influences, (“I don’t want to be labelled. But maybe the darker Manchester new wave stuff. The Fall”) and more forthcoming when his lyrical inspiration is pried, “lyrically I write social commentary. Like Joe Strummer and Bobbie Gillespie.” Eventually some pre-rockstar reality seeps through, “listen, a year and a half ago, I was thinking about being a chef. So, yeah, I’m loving this.” Long may it last.

Una

listening to: Arcade Fire: Neighbourhood 4 (live)

CBGBs RIP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/
0,12102,1523102,00.html

Lili and her fire alarm (as told by MSN)

LIL says:
oh my god

LIL says:
im gonna go CRAZEEEE

Una says:
fire alarm?

LIL says:
yeh

LIL says:
maybe ill get dressed and go downstairs

LIL says:
but its ALWAYS the same

LIL says:
as soon as i put on my bra it stops

Una says:
hahahahaha

LIL says:
gonna try that

Una says:
haha

LIL says:
i knew it

LIL says:
just put on my shoe

Una says:
hahaha

LIL says:
im so angry

LIL says:
that thing is so fucking loud i swear its damaging my ears

London today 

...

London was bombed today. Five trains and one bus. The tube station around the corner from Dee was hit, but she' was in work early.

I spent all morning watching the news. Then I went into town and met Lili. We were on her balcony watching some police helicopters when three fighter jets flew overhead. Weird. Just heightened security I suppose.

The attack has coincided with the opening of the G8 summit in Scotland of which Tony Blair is more or less in charge. I'm sure it will transpire that it is not an attack against the G8 summit, but the British occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. But no one really wants to talk about that.

Una

TIMES LIKE THESE

listening to: Guru - Near Me

Interesting things I did last weekend:

went speedboating

caught a mackrel

went to a BBQ

drank scrumpy

went to my brother's graduation

VERSUS

Boring things I did today:

talked to a sales assistant about buying a new phone

'restructured' my loan at the bank

tuned my guitar

made roast chicken


Una

Bless You

******************************************************
This notice hereby confirms that
Una Mullally
***, Clonkeen Crescent
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Dublin
n/a
Ireland
is an ordained member of the clergy of The Church of Spiritual Humanism

Date of Ordination: July 5, 2005

Ordained by R. A. Zorger, President www.SpiritualHumanism.org

******************************************************
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME!
The Church of Spiritual Humanism is happy to inform you that your ordination request has been reviewed and approved, and you are now an officially ordained clergy member.We are now offering our members ordination certificates, clergy wallet ID cards, blank certificates for various ceremonies, and "The Officiate's Manual" which contains lots of useful information for new clergy members. Many clergy members find these items useful when performing their religious services.

There are three different packages to choose from.
Basic Clergy Pack - $14.95
Advanced Clergy Pack - $39.95
Deluxe Clergy Pack - $89.95

For more information and to order one of these packages visit our web site:http://www.spiritualhumanism.org/shop.htm

You are now entitled to all privileges and courtesies normally offered to ordained members of the clergy. The record of your ordination has been entered into the official permanent records of the Church of Spiritual Humanism. Ordinations by the Church of Spiritual Humanism are for life, and are awarded completely free and without monetary charge. Please print or otherwise preserve this notice for your records. As an ordained member of the clergy, you are hereby authorized by the CSH to officiate religious rites and ceremonies, including marriage, baby naming, funeral services, invocations, and holiday ceremonies, as permitted and subject to the laws and regulations of your country, state, and municipality. It is important that before you officiate any civil ceremony (such as marriages), you know and comply with all laws governing your locality.The Church of Spiritual Humanism promotes religion based on reason. As a member of the CSH clergy it is your charge to strive to base your actions on, and influence others to be motivated by, deliberation and reason and not the irrational, emotional, or subjective. Furthermore your responsibilities are to peacefully follow the proper course of action, and to avoid infringing on the rights of others.

You alone are responsible for your actions as a member of the clergy.

If you have any question please feel free to email me.

Thanks for helping make the world a better place,

R. A. Zorger,
President
Church of Spiritual Humanism